


In That White House

by Maidenjedi



Category: West Wing
Genre: Drabble, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-15
Updated: 2012-07-15
Packaged: 2017-11-10 01:00:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/460487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maidenjedi/pseuds/Maidenjedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a new president and Sam begins to wonder - would Ainsley work in that White House?</p>
            </blockquote>





	In That White House

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alphabet26](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphabet26/gifts), [ColebaltBlue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColebaltBlue/gifts).



> Originally an untitled drabble written in 2009. I dressed it up for AO3.

"So, you're really taking the job, huh?"

Sam stabbed a piece of steak with his fork, but didn't bring it to his mouth. He was waiting to see what she would say, to see if he still had an appetite.

"Yes, Sam. I'm really taking the job."

He put the fork down.

"The Hoover Institute. Why in the name of Abraham Lincoln would you want to work for an non-profit named after Herbert Hoover? The man responsible for the Great Depression?" His sense of indignation was high when it came to people he cared about - maybe loved - falling for revisionist history nonsense like the sanctification of Hoover.

"Because it's a real opportunity, Sam. And I'm not going to work for them, I'm going to be a fellow, and do a lot of different things for conservative think tanks. Don't look at me like that, you would do the same thing if Brookings called you tomorrow. And Herbert Hoover was not the man responsible for the Great Depression, the crash of '29 just happened on his watch, and I would think you of all people would know better than to blame a stock market crash on the president of the United States. Besides, everyone knows, it was just a depression until Roosevelt, and it was Roosevelt who made it great."

If steam were literally pouring from Sam's ears at that point, he would not have been surprised. But people were starting to look over at their table, and Sam didn't want a scene, he had planned a nice romantic evening. So he took up his fork, and if he chewed the steak too long and hard enough that his jaw began to ache, no one need be the wiser.

"I wouldn't take a job at Brookings."

She arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I would, but only if I didn't still have the opportunity to work in this White House."

Her look softened. "I know."

This White House. Where they had disagreed, and debated, and come to tentative peace terms. And where they had begun to fall in love. 

But she took the job, and he ran for Congress, and the next time Sam Seaborn was alone with Ainsley Hayes, he was about to be married and there was another Democrat in the White House.

He had to ask her then, though some thought he would regret it, if she would work in that White House.


End file.
